by A. E. Via
“Slower,” Macauley growled, reclining in the water, his thick biceps bulging as he braced himself on the edge. “Your clothes are sexy as fuck. I wanna watch you take ’em off slowly.”
“You have seen me undress many times,” he argued, yet he eased his overcoat down his arms.
His eyes never left Macauley’s when he stepped out of his pants. He was no longer self-conscious about how hard his dick got just thinking about what his beloved was going to do to him. His hole pulsed, and he wanted it full and leaking his alpha’s come, while he drank his blood until he was sated and intoxicated.
“Fuck. C’mere.”
The intensity in Macauley’s eyes and the roughness in his voice let Adres know that his animal was close to the surface and wanting to claim him again. He climbed down into the steaming water and straight into Macauley’s arms. He wasn’t embarrassed by his loud moans as he straddled his legs around him and settled onto his lap. The water was amazing, the heat stimulating.
Macauley groaned against his jaw, his dick nestled between his ass. “You are so fuckin’ sexy.”
Adres tried not to let Macauley’s compliments go to his head, however he’d never received any before and he knew his cherished meant every word.
Thank you, beloved.
Macauley squeezed his arms around his back, one hand moving down his spine until he was touching his hole. Adres clenched his thighs around Macauley’s waist, encouraging him to use more than just his fingers. But it didn’t stop him from grinding down on them.
“I’ll give you my bite when you give me your cock,” Adres whispered in Romanian against the shell of Macauley’s ear.
“Holy fuck. I understood that.” He gripped Adres’s ass hard and spread him open.
Adres didn’t have enough time to comprehend what that meant before Macauley pressed inside him, filling him with one strong thrust. Adres cried out, the sounds of his pleasure being licked away and stolen by Macauley’s persistent mouth. And his alpha always knew the perfect place to touch him as he fucked him with deep, shallow strokes.
Now give me what I want, Macauley panted, drawing Adres’s mouth to his throat. Bite.
Adres bit into supple skin as Macauley rocked into him, pushing his energy into his core. Adres made a sound like he was dying a great death as he swallowed his first mouthful of Macauley’s blood. And it felt just as that… like his first time. So pure and good. He wanted to hold off his orgasm at least until Macauley was ready to bite, but that was one battle he would lose gladly. He was splayed open and receiving his cherished in every conceivable way as he shot his seed between their stomachs. He drank until his dick was spent and his body was boneless and floating.
Adres’s head fell to the side, his mind feeling a peace that made him want to fall into a deep slumber and dream within it.
The last he remembered before he did exactly that was a possessive growl, a moment of erotic bliss that made him see stars, then the overwhelming sensation of being claimed… or was that… love?
Justice had been adamant about them getting everything perfect for the blood drive, and Macauley was more than proud at how beautiful their pack lands had been decorated to receive their guests. It was a collective effort, and everyone had pitched in to make the coven leaders feel welcomed. Adres had been forced to remove his wards around the territory to allow the coven leaders to enter, now that the threat level was minimal. However, for security reasons, Adres had insisted the young pups stay tucked in their cabins for tonight. They were all a little anxious, as it was the first time that vampires had been invited to their territory for a social visit.
Seven medically equipped bloodmobiles had been brought onto the grounds last week and were already taking donations from not just their pack but from neighboring ones as well. Justice had started with his territory first to get the momentum going. Once Wick’s team was finished collecting there, the seven vehicles would travel across the country to other packs, collecting shifter blood. Anyone over the age of maturity—sixteen in their world—could donate.
They stood outside of Justice’s home with their personal guards and betas behind them. Justice didn’t want to appear as if they were prepared for an attack, so the pack enforcers and legion had been spread throughout the territory to keep watch. Macauley could sense the unease from not just his mate but his siblings too. He didn’t know why everyone was hoping for the best but expecting the worst. The vampires were not going to attack them. Not when they were on the brink of starvation, and they were their only hope.
Macauley felt as if he was the only one who was excited.
You seem nervous, Justice. Farica opened their link and sent her calmness towards them.
Justice released a long sigh. I just hope they don’t think we waited too long. For years there has been famine and—
Your name will be remembered forever, Justice, because of this very moment. Taleb said as he stood tall beside his two lovely mates.
Their little brother’s statement had them falling silent and thinking about their futures. Once they fulfilled the prophesy, would their time be over? Would there finally be peace? Macauley was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the engines of multiple vehicles rolling down the mountain.
“Azriel and Asa, the leaders of the End’s Shadow coven, have arrived,” Wick informed them. He had a communication device tucked into his ear so he could keep in contact with his legion.
Macauley remembered Asa and Azriel from the war room. He remembered their courage and honesty as they’d pleaded for their people’s survival. When their vehicles slowed to a stop, a hulking man in an all-black suit got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door. Asa and Azriel looked beautiful as they took each other’s hands and waited for their coven officers to join them. Macauley blinked, unable to believe what he saw. The men he remembered had been frail and malnourished, but now their bodies had filled out, and their skin and long hair appeared healthy and luxurious.
Was their shifter blood really responsible for such a dramatic transformation? Macauley glanced at his brothers at the same time they glanced towards him. He guessed none of them could believe it. The solution had been within them all the time.
Justice was right. They had waited far too long.
More vehicles with blacked-out windows—most of them older models—slowed to a stop in the wraparound driveaway. No one got out of the other vehicles, and Macauley could smell traces of fear and nervousness.
Something is wrong. They are afraid of us, Macauley told Adres, not wanting to cause alarm to his siblings. Not yet.
Adres stepped away from their lined formation at the same time that Aleksei’s eyes turned coal black, and Wrath fell in step beside him.
“Greetings.” Adres motioned for the other leaders to get out of the security of their vehicles and join them. “It is okay, brothers. No one will harm you here. I won’t allow it.”
It was hard to hold in their gasps of shame when more vampires filed out of the vehicles, most of them appearing worse for wear, and in similar conditions as Asa and Azriel had been when they’d been captured. Only the coven leaders wore suits that were an ill-fit on their malnourished bodies, while their officers stood behind them in tattered slacks and bulky sweaters to combat the cold. Macauley could see them sniffing the air, their nostrils flaring at the rich scent of their blood.
My gods. What have we done? Farica whispered. Have we really been that blind?
Justice held Wick’s arm in the crease of his elbow when he addressed their guests. “We are grateful to all of you for coming. We hope this is the first of many blood drives. As you can see…” Justice pointed to the line of shifters waiting near the bloodmobiles for their turn. “We have already begun to distribute to the covens on the east coast this week, and what we collect here tonight, and from the neighboring packs tomorrow, will be sent further inland to the Midwest covens.”
None of the leaders made a move as they took in Justice’s words and their su
rroundings. If Macauley had been a vampire, he’d probably have been leery as well. Shifters were known to be self-serving, possessive, and unpredictable. But so far, their visitors appeared to be impressed by the number of mobiles that were on the property and how eager the shifters seemed to want to donate.
“It is an honor to be back in your territory, Justice.” Asa smiled up at the lights that twinkled above his head before he and his partner gave the king an honored bow. “Especially as an invited guest.”
“You are welcome anytime,” Wick confirmed.
“Yes, anytime at all,” Anna, Macauley’s own beta, added as she stared down at Asa and Azriel’s personal guard.
Macauley held in his groan. For fuck’s sake.
The guard glanced in Anna’s direction, giving her a confident grin that showed impressive fangs.
“Gods, this was the best idea Adres has ever had,” Rich mumbled near Macauley’s ear. “Do you see those two down there near the last car?”
“Hell yeah, and the guy she’s with too.” Bundy’s potent pheromones were practically choking him as Macauley elbowed him in his ribs to get him to shut up and get himself under control. “I donated earlier this week, so I think I’m gonna ask if that tall, dark-haired one would like a personal sample.”
Mac! Justice growled. Get your betas in line. I can smell them all the way down here.
Talk about self-serving. This wasn’t supposed to be about their pleasure; it was supposed to be about unity and assisting a starving community. Not getting their freak on.
“If the leaders would like to come inside my home, the Lord Chamberlain has some drinks already prepared for you, and your officers are welcome to join mine on a tour of the property.”
“Your hospitality is greatly appreciated, Justice.” Asa stepped forward, accepting the offer, which was enough to make the other leaders follow.
While Justice, Wick, and Aleksei went inside to talk with the coven heads, Macauley took Adres’s hand and led him towards the main compound to join the festivities. Upbeat instrumental music played from the speakers mounted around the courtyard. It was an amazing sight to see vampires and shifters talking with each other as if they were neighbors meeting for an outdoor party. The younger crowd was more social than the older vampires as they stuck close to each other while they watched with hunger brimming in their dark eyes as the medical officers collected bags of blood.
“I think this is a success if you ask me.” Macauley nodded, pulling Adres into his chest.
“I agree.” Adres’s gaze was on an older vampire that was sitting at one of the many benches while a vampire that appeared to be in his late teens was holding a plastic cup to his mouth to help him drink. He was so weak he could barely move his limbs. “Taleb was right. Justice will be remembered for this.”
Macauley kissed the top of Adres’s head. “And so will you.”
They stood there in silence for a while, just watching and enjoying when Michelle and her clique came around the corner. She had a presence that commanded attention. And it wasn’t because of her supermodel hair, her smooth tanned skin, her ample breasts, or even the extra-short dress she wore that left nothing to the imagination; it was her abundance of confidence. Even her girls were some sexy motherfuckers, but the games they played with men and women made them undesirable as mates.
“So, didn’t our alpha say something about permitting drinking directly from the source?” Michelle purred as she sauntered past a group of vampires, turning their heads. She settled on a table that was only feet from where Macauley was standing, speaking loud enough so there was no mistaking her intentions. She gave him and Adres a smug sneer. “I think it’s far time I see for myself what a vampire can offer me. Isn’t that right, ladies?”
Her crew was quick to agree as always as they zeroed in on their own targets.
I thought Farica handled this? Adres vibrated in his arms, his anger growing.
A vampire who had arrived with the Staten Island coven appeared to be under her spell as he approached Michelle, falling right into her trap. “Good evening, beautiful.” He wore dark jeans and a camel-colored Henley beneath his black wool trench. He was almost the same height and build as Macauley, but his platinum-blond hair was slicked back, and his eyes weren’t blue but as black as opals. Macauley scented him but smelled no ill will from his core.
Ignore her, he told Adres. She wants a reaction out of you more than me.
Then I will give her one.
No! Macauley took Adres’s hand and led him away, remembering what Aleksei had warned. He would not allow his mate to be banished. As he walked to put some distance between his mate and his… ex, he opened his link to Justice.
It looks as if Michelle is taking one of the coven officers to her cabin for a more personal feeding… did you permit this?
It would be rather hypocritical of us to forbid any of them from having consenting relations with a vampire, Mac. We are all adults here—there are no pups in sight. Besides, you should no longer be concerned with her conquest, especially if she’s moving on like her alpha demanded.
I’m not concerned. I was just letting you know that Michelle has already kicked off the R-rated portion of the event.
Justice laughed before he cleared their link. If his brother wasn’t worried about anything happening, then he wouldn’t either.
“Where are we going, young wolf?” Adres asked as he was pulled farther into the woods behind Macauley’s cabin. “Don’t you think we should stay around the others?”
“Justice said everything is cool, so no.” Macauley pushed him against the base of a tree. “All that noise and music is getting on my nerves. I just want ten minutes of peace and quiet with you.”
“I will not argue that.” Adres moaned as Macauley went straight for his throat.
“And I thought with all the blood and drinks flowing that maybe you were getting hungry.”
“I’m always hungry for you,” Adres answered before he bit into Macauley’s throat.
“Fuck, you make that feel so good.” Macauley groaned, gripping his ass. “Drink as much as you want.”
Adres loved that his cherished was able to produce more blood than he could possibly consume at once. His pureness presenting him with a new flavor every time. Adres’s eyelids slid shut as essence as sweet as honeysuckle slid down his throat. He could ingest so much that he could get drunk and fall into a slumber. He swallowed one more sizeable gulp before he pulled away and went to his knees. Macauley’s dick was already out and leaking as he took the head between his lips and sucked him down his throat.
Macauley’s voice rang out into the night, neither of them caring who might have been close enough to hear. Besides, they weren’t the only ones making noises now. Adres ignored the sounds around him and focused on making Macauley lose his mind. He loved the heft of his beloved’s cock on his tongue and the way it pulsed and filled his mouth.
Macauley held the back of Adres’s head as he spilled down his throat. He didn’t let a single drop escape as he bathed Macauley’s cock clean with his tongue. He had one arm braced against the hard bark of the tree, gazing down at him and spreading his legs wider as Adres went lower.
He was going on pure instinct now, fueled by his cherished’s come and wanting more. Macauley’s earthy scent and Adres’s bone-deep urge to satisfy his alpha kept him on his knees. He had never drunk from a lover in this way, it being far too intimate and risky if not done properly, but he wanted it more than anything. He wanted the pleasure to be so intense that it left his cherished dazed and trembling. Adres flicked his tongue along the tight vein beneath Macauley’s sac before he sucked it with passion, treating his balls as if they were precious jewels.
Oh fuck, oh fuck, fuck, Macauley chanted as Adres pierced one fang into Macauley’s sac, pushing enough elixir that his thighs shook. The taste was divine and more potent there as he lapped at Macauley’s taint while scarce drops of blood ran down his throat. His own cock was so hard, but he
would wait until they were home in their bed, beneath the covers, to quench that hunger.
“You’re gonna make me fucking come again,” Macauley warned, just before Adres released his sac and clamped his mouth around the head to swallow what he had left to give. His lover’s come was like liquid sunshine coating his throat.
He was being positively obscene and smutty, and gods did he love it. Why do you make me do such nasty things, Alpha? A rumble of satisfaction vibrated Adres’s tongue, and he didn’t stop laving Macauley’s thick shaft until he was attempting to pull him to his feet. Adres leaned against his alpha while he righted their clothes.
“I swear if I didn’t have to help with some of the cleanup, I would not go back. We need some real time alone, mate. Like a vacation.”
“I know of the word ‘vacation,’ but it is not something I know how to do.” Adres felt as light-hearted as he’d ever been. A vacation? Interesting. Where would they go? He guessed the skies were the limit. There was nothing he couldn’t do anymore. His mind and soul were free.
When Adres had mentioned love to his old friend, he hadn’t been sure he would get to experience the sentiment in his lifetime. But he was sure the intensity that he felt for his young wolf was indeed… love.
“It sounds as if the party is winding down. Thank heavens. Now we can go home,” Macauley said as they walked back towards the compound. “And we can start to plan our… vacation.”
Macauley was gazing at the faint curve Adres felt on his lips when he heard the faint whistle that propelled him into motion. It only took him a fraction of a second to reach behind him and pull his sword, the blade extending and batting away the two darts that flew towards his beloved. Adres snapped his sword in Macauley’s direction and threw a shield around him as he shifted into his animal.
“Go and warn your pack,” Adres ordered. Whoever had fired at them was already far too close to the compound, and he was concerned that no alarm had been raised.
I will not leave your side.
